


Come On In

by Le_Serenity



Category: Gilmore Girls
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Friendship, Gen, One Shot, Relationship(s)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-30
Updated: 2017-06-30
Packaged: 2018-11-21 13:08:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,415
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11358153
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Le_Serenity/pseuds/Le_Serenity
Summary: After giving Luke "The Ultimatum," Lorelai goes to see Christopher. An alternative version of how that night should have gone.





	Come On In

A little tipsy and exhausted from another eventful, unpredictable night at the infamous Gilmore House, Christopher walked out from G.G.’s room after the little girl had just fallen asleep successfully after a second read of Cinderella. The now silent apartment suddenly echoed a knock at the front door, forcing Christopher to sidestep around the lonely toy on the floor to reach it before a possible second knock wakes his daughter. 

He tried to shield his surprise when he saw none other than Lorelai on the other side – no longer wearing the mischievous smile from dinner but instead, had tears brimming around her brilliant blue eyes. 

“Hey.”

“Hey,” she said softly, obviously attempting to keep her emotions in check. 

“You okay?”

“Uh, I’m having a really bad night, and, um… I just don’t want to be alone. Okay?”

This was his best friend. The mother of his first child. A woman who knew him better than he swears he knew himself. His thoughts were rolling even as his hand automatically pused the door to open fuller. 

“Yeah. Uh, come on in.”

He wanted to believe it was relief that crossed her face before she lowered her head, passing by him – perfume still wafting from her. She glanced around the apartment; her feet dragged more than is usual for this woman of fire and humor. With a nervous skip in his step and softness in his voice, he beckoned her to the couch all the while making sure a sound wasn't coming from G.G’s room. Still asleep. Good. 

Christopher resisted sitting next to Lorelai on the couch and, instead, submitted to the chair on the other side of the coffee table. All the while, Lorelai, still quiet, had her hands clasped in her lap, twisting the engagement ring on her one finger. 

And he just knew. Luke. “Lor… what’s going on?”

She sniffed but stayed silent. Odd. 

“Lor,” he prodded a little more but tried to keep his voice gentle. “um, did something happen with… with Luke?”

All she did was nod, a couple tears slipping from her cheeks. Quickly, she swiped them away. But Lorelai was always like an old man sitting on the couch with a TV remote in one hand, constantly flipping through the channels – never satisfied to settle on one. Lorelai flipped from silent and tearful to perky and comedic. 

One of her common defense mechanisms. 

“Y’know, I once thought – I don’t know – maybe I should follow in Diane Keaton’s footsteps, and, um, just never marry. Date around. Have fun ‘cause girls just wanna have fun and all that… but Luke – I’m ready. I’m ready to get married, and he just…”

She was rambling, but he could always keep up with her. 

“Is he Woody Allen or Al Pacino?”

“Maybe Warren Beatty.”

“Seriously?”

“The hair, Chris.”

“Ah, okay,” he says, but left it there. A little detour always needed to return to the main road. “So… um, you don’t think Luke wants to get married?”

The smile that had started to form in her eyes from the jokes – she always loved the jokes – began to fade just as easily as it had come. She sniffed again and leaned back into the couch. 

“No, he doesn’t.”

“Why do you think he doesn’t want to get married?”

“He just doesn’t, Chris. I gave him an ultimatum, and he said no.”

His brows soared toward the ceiling. “Because ultimatums always lead to positive outcomes?”

“I, well – Yeah. Why shouldn’t they? Once, when I was in 8th grade, I asked Tony Delonti to either give me his slice of pizza or I would step on his foot with my heel. He gave me the pizza.”

“Tony always had four slices of pizza for lunch. He had plenty to spare – not to mention his mother donated enough money to the school, he could’ve easily gotten more.”

“So not the point. I got my pizza.”

“Did your ultimatum to Luke involve pizza or a stomp on the foot?”

“No,” she huffed, and he wasn’t sure if she realized that she started fiddling with her ring again. “I asked him to elope with me. Now or never, and he… he said no.”

“Just like that? No?”

“Well, no – he said he couldn’t jump like that. Wanted to think about it. But that’s just it! We’ve been talking and talking about this for months. He knew I wanted to get married. I told him I didn’t think it was going to happen, and when we were in Martha’s Vineyard, he said it _would_ happen. He even suggested eloping! He said we were gonna have lobster at our wedding, but that was _months_ ago.”

“And was there any further follow up to the conversation after Martha’s Vineyard?”

She went to open her mouth but closed it in thought. “Um.”

Christopher tilted his head, watching her try to come up with something – anything – to prove her points. He didn’t know too much about her relationship with the diner guy – with the man her mother didn’t approve of, but he knew Lorelai loved him. He knew Rory loved him. There was something about this guy that made his girls happy. Chris knew he still loved the woman sitting before him, and he knew this was a moment he could regret later. From the sounds of it, her relationship with Luke was over, and this could be his chance. They could finally be a family like he had always wanted. They could get married, he and G.G. could move into her house in Stars Hollow, and they could have more children. The first one turned out so well, so where was the harm? But Lorelai Gilmore loved this Luke, and his daughted loved her mother with Luke. The memory of Rory telling him to back off because her mother was happy with Luke and he would just screw it up... Lorelai wasn't happy right now, obviously, but that didn't mean it couldn't be fixed, right?

“Lor, it sounds like you two haven’t been communicating very well. You may have told him months ago how you were feeling, but if you two came out on common ground at that point, he may have thought you were still on that common ground. Instead, you remained uncertain about your relationship, and you doubted the wedding was going to happen someday. Now, I don’t really know what is going on. There could be more to this story than you’re telling me right now, but I know you, Lor. When your feet are in deep, you cover your insecurities with smiles and humor without really saying anything. You need to say something to him, and it shouldn’t be an ultimatum. It should be a conversation. All walls down and complete honesty.”

And there it was. That look she gave him. Even when they were kids in high school and even when their parents were debating their future when they found out Lorelai was pregnant, Lorelai gave him that look. The doubtful look. The “who are you to tell me how to live my life” look combined with the “Christopher, you’re too immature to understand” look. He was used to it at this point, and he had tried throughout the past two decades to look passed it. 

But, yet, there it was. 

“Lor, you know I’m right. You love Luke. Do you really want to lose him over a conversation you didn’t really have?”

She stayed silent, looking everywhere around him except at him. Fingers spinning the ring on her finger but never once moving it any closer to slipping it off. 

“Just think about it, okay? I’m going to order a pizza. We can watch a movie, and, if you want, you can stay here tonight. The guest room is comfortable, and I think Miriam put new sheets on the bed this morning.” He paused. “But this is you and Luke. Your future. The love of your life. Just think about it before you walk away from him because then you may not be able to turn back time.”

"Really? Cher? Who are you?"

"I think it's an appropriate reference."

"Since when do you like Cher?"

"I don't like Cher. I'm just saying--"

"I know." A deep breath, straightened shoulders, and she looked up at him – and nodded. "I’ll think about it... Thanks, Chris -- Do you ever tire of being my cheerleader?”

“Hey, as long as I look good on the field, I’m good to go.”

**Author's Note:**

> "When a girl you care about shows up at your door, you invite her inside, order pizza, watch a movie, and ask her what's wrong. You do NOT sleep with her."
> 
> This is what should have happened in this situation. Can the real Christopher Hayden please take notes?
> 
> This is my very first time writing a Gilmore Girls fic. I apologize if the voices are off, but I hope you enjoyed it regardless.


End file.
